Waterfalls in New York

Where the waterfalls are in New York

New York has two very different kinds of waterfall. The Finger Lakes region is full of deep gorges where streams cut through layered shale and limestone, leaving tall plunges and long chains of cascades; Ithaca's gorges and Watkins Glen are the famous examples. Farther east, the Catskills and Adirondacks have falls on hard mountain rock. And on the western edge sits Niagara.

Many of the finest falls are in state parks, several of which have gorge trails that close in winter because of ice.

Well-known waterfalls in New York

Niagara Falls

The American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls are on the New York side, in Niagara Falls State Park, the oldest state park in the United States. The larger Horseshoe Falls is mostly in Canada. Falls near Niagara Falls.

Taughannock Falls

A plunge of about 215 feet near Ithaca, taller than Niagara, seen from an overlook or at the end of a level gorge trail. Falls near Taughannock Falls.

Kaaterskill Falls

A two-tier fall in the Catskills, about 260 feet in total, and one of the oldest tourist attractions in the country. A viewing platform above the falls keeps visitors off the dangerous ledges. Falls near Kaaterskill Falls.

Rainbow Falls

One of the many falls along the Gorge Trail in Watkins Glen State Park, where the trail passes behind the water. Falls near Rainbow Falls.

Lucifer Falls

The tallest fall in Robert H. Treman State Park near Ithaca, on the park's Gorge Trail. Falls near Lucifer Falls.

Middle Falls

The central of three big falls on the Genesee River in Letchworth State Park, the "Grand Canyon of the East". Falls near Middle Falls.

When to go

Snowmelt and spring rain make April and May the peak. Gorge trails in the Finger Lakes often open in May and close in November, and many falls run thin by late summer. See the best time to see waterfalls for how flow changes by region.

New York by the numbers

The map shows 406 named falls in New York. 216 of them are in the USGS Geographic Names Information System, the federal register of official place names, and 190 more are named falls mapped only in OpenStreetMap. 73 have a height recorded by OpenStreetMap mappers, which is what the height filter above uses. St. LawrenceCounty has the most, with 41.

Tallest recorded waterfalls in New York

Heights as recorded in OpenStreetMap, converted to feet. Guidebooks may list different figures, usually because they count every tier of a fall or only the biggest drop. Why heights differ.

Counties with the most waterfalls

From the USGS record, which gives each fall's county.

Every named waterfall in New York

Alphabetical within each county. Tap a name to centre the map above on it.

Albany County (6)

Bozen Kill Falls (49 ft), Buttermilk Falls, Dickinson Falls, Horton Falls (82 ft), Mine Lot Falls, Rensselaerville Falls

Cattaraugus County (1)

Stoney Pitcher Falls

Cayuga County (5)

Carpenter Falls, Clifton Falls, Montville Falls, Moonshine Falls, Parson Falls

Chautauqua County (2)

Arkwright Falls, Shumla Falls

Chenango County (2)

Rexford Falls, White Store Falls

Clinton County (3)

Alice Falls, Kent Falls, Rainbow Falls

Columbia County (3)

Buttermilk Falls, High Falls, Rossman Falls

Cortland County (2)

Spicer Falls, Tinker Falls (50 ft)

Delaware County (5)

Canada Falls, Hardenburgh Falls, Straton Falls, Tompkins Falls, Watauga Falls

Essex County (22)

Artists Falls, Beaver Meadows Falls, Bushnell Falls, Buttermilk Falls, Clifford Falls, Fairy Ladder Falls, Hanging Spear Falls, High Falls, Hulls Falls, Indian Falls, Linsey Falls, Millers Falls, Monument Falls, Ord Falls, Phelps Falls, Rainbow Falls, Rocky Falls, Russell Falls, Split Rock Falls, The Falls, The Flume Fall, Wanika Falls

Franklin County (6)

Augerhole Falls, High Falls, High Falls, Lower Falls, Raquette Falls, Upper Falls

Fulton County (1)

Buttermilk Falls

Genesee County (1)

Buttermilk Falls

Greene County (4)

Buttermilk Falls (75 ft), Glen Falls, Kaaterskill Falls (148 ft), Meadow Falls

Hamilton County (6)

Auger Falls, Austin Falls, Buttermilk Falls, Christine Falls, T Lake Falls, Touey Falls

Herkimer County (2)

Limekiln Falls, Sliding Falls

Jefferson County (9)

Beaver Falls, Burrville Cider Mill Falls, Butternut Falls, Catfish Falls, Childs Falls, Great Falls, Pleasant Creek Falls, Sperrys Falls, Talcott Falls

Lewis County (13)

Agers Falls, Dicob Falls, Eagle Falls, Eatonville Falls, Elmer Falls, High Falls, Jerden Falls, Kings Falls, Lyons Falls, Rainbow Falls (98 ft), Shingle Mill Falls, Singing Waters Falls, Whitaker Falls

Livingston County (6)

Fall Brook Falls, Lower Falls, Middle Falls, Stone Falls, Triphammer Falls, Upper Falls

Madison County (6)

Buttermilk Falls, Button Falls, Chittenango Falls (167 ft), Delphi Falls, Perryville Falls, Stockbridge Falls

Monroe County (4)

High Falls (95 ft), Honeoye Falls, Lower Falls, Middle Falls

Montgomery County (2)

Buttermilk Falls, Canajoharie Falls

Niagara County (4)

American Falls (112 ft), Bridal Veil Falls (180 ft), Horseshoe Falls (167 ft), Niagara Falls

Oneida County (8)

Crandall Falls, High Falls, Lower High Falls, Mill Dam Falls, Pixley Falls, Sherman Falls, Trenton Falls, Upper High Falls

Onondaga County (6)

Brickyard Falls, Bucktail Falls, Edwards Falls, Fellows Falls, Pratts Falls (138 ft), The Cascades

Orange County (2)

Buttermilk Falls, Buttermilk Falls

Oswego County (3)

Mad River Falls, Salmon River Falls, Winns Pond

Otsego County (5)

Buttermilk Falls, Clarke Falls, Judds Falls (121 ft), Leatherstocking Falls, Saint Marys Falls

Saratoga County (2)

Cohoes Falls (89 ft), Eggleston Falls

Schoharie County (3)

Boucks Falls, Manorkill Falls, Mine Kill Falls

Schuyler County (3)

Aunt Sarahs Falls, Hector Falls, Shequaga Falls

Seneca County (3)

Hosmer Falls, Oak Tree Falls, Silver Thread Falls

St. Lawrence County (41)

Allen Falls, Basford Falls, Bog River Falls, Brasher Falls, Browns Falls, Bruner Falls, Cascade Falls, Coopers Falls, Copper Rock Falls, Emeryville Falls, Five Falls (historical), Flat Rock Falls, Fullerville Falls, Gain Twist Falls (historical), Greenwood Falls, Harper Falls, Harts Falls, Hazleton Falls, High Falls, High Falls, Higley Falls, Jacksons Falls, Jamestown Falls, Kingsley Falls, Lampsons Falls, Little Falls (historical), Madison Chute, Moody Falls, Newton Falls, Pelkys Falls, Plumb Brook Falls, Rainbow Falls, Rainbow Falls, Rensselaer Falls, Rock Dam Falls, Rushton Falls, Sinclair Falls, Stark Falls, Sylvan Falls, Three Falls, Twin Falls

Steuben County (2)

Bear Falls, Oskonsa Falls

Sullivan County (3)

Denton Falls, High Falls, Katrina Falls

Tioga County (1)

Buttermilk Falls

Tompkins County (3)

Ithaca Falls, Lucifer Falls, Taughannock Falls (217 ft)

Ulster County (7)

Glenerie Falls, Hanging Rock Falls, High Falls, Nevele Falls (36 ft), Stony Kill Falls, Verkeerder Kill Falls, Vernooy Falls

Warren County (1)

Spier Falls

Washington County (3)

Bakers Falls, Buttermilk Falls, Kane Falls

Wyoming County (4)

Angel Falls, Cascade Falls, Johnson Falls, Johnson Falls

Yates County (1)

Glenora Falls

County not recorded (190)

Akron Falls, Ambergill Falls, Artist Falls, Ashley Falls, Aunt Sarah's Falls, Awosting Falls, Barberville Falls, Bastion Falls (33 ft), Bear Slide, Beaver Brook Waterfall, Beaver Meadow Falls, Beede Brook Falls (66 ft), Binnen Falls, Black Chasm Falls (131 ft), Blue Hole Falls (10 ft), Bridal falls, Bridal Veil Falls (89 ft), Buttermilk Falls, Buttermilk Falls, Buttermilk Falls (33 ft), Buttermilk Falls, Buttermilk Lower Falls, Buttermilk Middle Falls, Cantine Dam Falls, Cascade Falls (13 ft), Cascade Falls, Central Cascade, Chippewa Falls, Clarendon Falls, Cornell Falls, Corning Cascade Falls, Coward's Falls, Creamery Falls, Cromer's Mill, Deckertown Falls, Delmura Falls (13 ft), Delphi Falls Lower (65 ft), Delphi Falls Upper (52 ft), Densmore Falls, Diamond Notch Falls (15 ft), Dionondahowa Falls, Dream Waterfall, Dug Mountain Brook Upper Waterfall (10 ft), Dug Mountain Brook Waterfall (3 ft), Dunkley Falls, East Kill Falls, Elizabeth Falls (26 ft), Emilie Jonas Falls, Ensminger Falls (131 ft), Eternal Flame Falls (30 ft), Fallkill Falls, Falls of Carrilon, Fawn's Leap (26 ft), first falls, First Falls (7 ft), Fish Cabin Falls, French Hollow Falls, Frontenac Falls (95 ft), Gaia Cascade, Glen Falls (30 ft), Green Hole Falls (23 ft), Grey Rock Falls (43 ft), Guppy Falls, Hardenburg Falls, Hart's Falls, Hectors Falls, Hells Hole Falls (39 ft), Hidden Falls (7 ft), High Falls (Climax), High Falls (Main), High Falls (Mini), High Falls (Rainbow), High Falls Waterfall, High Falls Waterfall, Hoags Corners Falls, Holly Falls, Hoosick Falls, Horseshoe Falls, Horseshoe Falls, Horseshoe Mines Falls, Indian Falls, Indian Falls, Indian Lake Day Use Area, Jacob's Ladder Falls, Jensen Cascade, Keshequa Creek Falls, Lampson Falls, Lemon Squeeze Falls (7 ft), LG waterfall, Little Stony Kill Falls, Lower Bridal Veil Falls (39 ft), Lower Burden Falls, Lower Buttermilk Falls (36 ft), Lower Carpenter Falls, Lower Falls, Lower Ghost (Japanese) Falls (75 ft), Lower Plotter Kill Falls (39 ft), Lower Stag Brook Falls, Ludlowville Falls (33 ft), MacIntyre Falls, Manor Kill Falls, Marcellus Falls, Mattulke Falls, Medina Falls, Metacahonts Falls, Middle Falls, Mine Hole Falls (23 ft), Minelot Falls (98 ft), Mossy Brook Waterfall, Mullet Falls, North Gully Falls, Norton’s Falls, OK Slip Falls, Old Mill Falls (13 ft), Otter Falls, Palmer Falls, Peter's Kill Falls, Piscawen Falls, Plattekill Falls (75 ft), Pocket Falls, Poesten Kill Falls, Postcard Falls (3 ft), Potter's Falls, Pyramid Brook Falls, Rainbow Falls, Rainbow Falls, Red Falls, Red Rock Falls (16 ft), Rensselaerville Lower Falls, Rensselaerville Middle Falls, Rensselaerville Upper Falls, Reynolds Gully Falls, Roaring Brook Falls (262 ft), Rockwell Falls, Rocky Falls, Royalton Falls, Russell Brook Falls, Rynex Kill Falls (39 ft), Saint Regis Falls, Santa Cruz Falls (56 ft), Saratoga Falls, Saw Mill Falls, Schalks Falls (13 ft), Schroon Falls, second falls, Second Falls (10 ft), Sergeant Falls, Sheldon Falls, Shelving Rock Falls (50 ft), Shoebox Falls (10 ft), Sliding Rock Falls (30 ft), Smart's Cascade, Snook Kill Falls, Square Falls, Star Falls (39 ft), Stratton Falls (20 ft), Swatling Falls, Swimming hole and water fall (3 ft), The Falls, The Loch, third falls, Third Falls (3 ft), Triphammer Falls, Turning Point Falls, Uncas Falls (7 ft), Upper Akron Falls, Upper Burden Falls (26 ft), Upper Carpenter Falls (90 ft), Upper Falls, Upper Falls, Upper Falls, Upper Ghost (Japanese) Falls (39 ft), Upper Hell Hole Falls, Upper Plotter Kill Falls (59 ft), Upper Stag Brook Falls, Venus Bath, Verkeerderkill Falls, Vernooy Kill Falls, Viola Falls (30 ft), Vloman Kill Falls (13 ft), Warsaw Waterfall, Wedge Brook Cascades, West Stoney Creek Falls, Wildcat Falls, Wildcat Falls (98 ft), Winchell's Falls, Winter Clove falls (36 ft), Witches Hole Waterfall, Wolcott Falls, Wynants Kill Falls

Before you go

The map shows where falls are, not whether they are open or safe to reach. Check the land manager, usually a state park or national forest, for closures, fees and permits, and stay on the trail near the water. Our waterfall safety guide covers the hazards, and waterfall hikes near me explains how to pick a trail.

Waterfalls near cities in New York

Every named fall within driving range of the city, nearest first: waterfalls near New York City, waterfalls near Ithaca, waterfalls near Rochester, waterfalls near Buffalo, waterfalls near Albany.

Waterfalls in nearby states: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts. Or see waterfalls in every state.